The way it should have been
by garnet013
Summary: What would have happened if Jiraya had got Naruto and raised him.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto. (But I would like to someday use it for a dog's name. What? It would be really cool)

Naruto was wrapped up in an old blanket that smelled of sweet lemons and herbs. He was only six months old and yet his life was already messed up. Naruto's mother had died during child birth and his father sacrificed himself to save his beloved village from the horror of the nine-tailed beast that now resides in his frail body. All this happened on his birthday too.

Not that the poor kid knew any of this yet. Right now all he was concerned about was that stupid furry thing on this guys head. He and who he had christened 'Furry Man' had just met two days ago. Naruto was happy about being away from the older people who always would make him shut up by giving him a smack over the head or pinching his arm. For some reason he had made them angry.

He was happy that Furry Man didn't do this to him. When he first saw Furry Man he was in his metal cage. (Yep that's right folks, cage). All he had in there was an old blanket that smelled stinky and an older pillow. It had a hard cement floor and a door that would only open if you had the key.

When Furry Man first walked into the room he blinked his eyes a lot at Naruto. He then turned to one of the older people. He glared at the man before speaking in a soft, yet deadly tone "Give me the key or you die." The older person gave the shiny key to Furry Man before running off.

After that Furry Man crouched down and unlocked the creaky metal door. He smiled at Naruto who (can you really blame him?) was afraid of this man who wore some really weird looking stuff on his face. Furry Man smiled at him though and picked up Naruto. Naruto had just gotten pinched for crying an hour ago and had a small bruise spot where the old person pinched him. Furry Man saw this and hugged Naruto for a long time. "I'm sorry Naruto. I should have come sooner for you." He whispered this to Naruto with regret in his voice.

When Furry Man sighed and started walking to the door, Naruto wondered where he was taking him. He looked up at the man and smiled. He felt he could trust this man so he yawned softly before falling into sleep.

Naruto woke up not an hour later to a woman yelling. He looked and saw it was the pinching lady. He hated her and could tell Furry Man did too by the way he held tighter to Naruto as if to protect him from her fingers. "Why in the world would you take that beast out of its cell?" The woman scolded Furry man. "He should be kil-"That last word was never quite finished because Furry Man, holding Naruto in the crook of his left arm, pinned the woman up to a cold and hard wall with his right hand.

"No child should be killed just because of what threat they could posses in the future. Naruto will now be living under my care and if the elders have a fit about it tell them to- "Furry Man quickly glanced at Naruto before looking back up "get lost." Furry Man then let go of the older woman and walked away from her. He soon reached the entrance and opened the door to the bright sunlight. Naruto snuggled closer to Furry Man and yawned. He felt the Furry Mans laugh and looked up at him with a pout. This made Furry man smile.

"I'm sorry if that little scene bored you Naruto. Next time I'll make it more interesting." Naruto didn't really understand that but he smiled at Furry Man anyway. It was nice to know that not everyone hated him. He closed his eyes and fell to sleep knowing that Furry Man would protect him.

* * *

As the days turned into a week Naruto learned Furry man's real name was Jiraiya. He learned this one sunny afternoon when He and Furry Man were doing the normal routine. Naruto was trying to steal some ramen from Furry Mans' bowl while Furry man was trying not to laugh at Naruto's hopeless, yet persistent, attempts.

When Naruto stopped trying he pouted up to Furry Man and opened his mouth. Furry Man smiled and said teasingly "Awww, are you giving up now?" Naruto then closed his mouth before quickly saying "Fuey Man." before sticking his tongue out at him. Furry Man blinked a few times before smiling. "You think my names Furry Man?" He asked Naruto with a look of hurt on his face. Naruto felt bad but he nodded his head truthfully.

Before he had time to blink, Naruto was lifted up into the air. He screamed in delight before looking down at Furry Man who was laughing at him. "Well it's not. My name's Jiraiya." Naruto pouted at him before shaking his head. "Fuey Man." Jiraiya glared playfully at the kid before walking to the couch and setting Naruto down. He then crouched right in front of him.

"No. Jiraiya ." He told Naruto calmly. "Fuey Man." Naruto said with a hint of annoyance. Jiraiya lifted his eyebrow and smiled. "Why would anyone name their kid Furry Man?" Naruto smiled and pointed to Jiraiya's long shaggy pony tail. "Fuey Man fuey". Jiraiya frowned at Naruto before standing up. He picked up Naruto before sitting on the couch with the little kid on his lap.

"This is a pony tail. So my hair doesn't fly everywhere." Naruto looked up at Jiraiya before looking back at the long tail. "Jiraiya?" Naruto said hesitantly to himself. Jiraiya smiled and turned Narutos' head towards him. "See was that so hard to say?" He asked his blond haired kid. Naruto shook his head and hugged Jiraiya.

"I guess you're tired now. Do you want to take a nap? Jiraiya asked him softly. Naruto didn't answer though. He was already far away in dream land. Jiraiya sighed before picking Naruto up carefully and walking over to his and Narutos room. He gently placed Naruto in his crib.

"Sleep tight little guy." He told Naruto in a whisper.


	2. Chapter 2

sorry for the long wait. do not own naruto

* * *

Ch 2: The Great Healer

Jiraiya knew this would happen someday. His little blond was walking. All day Naruto would follow Jiraiya everywhere. To the bedroom, to the kitchen even once or twice the bathroom. It was cute at to have a little shadow everywhere you went. He even used it to his advantage. Well it is Jiraiya I'm talking about here.

"Aww what a cute little boy you have!" A brunette woman exclaimed to Jiraiya one day when he and Naruto were out getting ramen. Naruto smiled shyly at the tall lady. He held on to Jiraiya's hand every time they went out on walks. He didn't want to get lost.

Jiraiya smiled softly at Naruto before sighing. "I know. They grow up so quickly too. It's sad for me you know? One day I'm holding him in my arms the next he's walking on his own, already wanting to explore the world around him" The girl smiled sadly at him before walking closer to Jiraiya "that's so sweet of you to say." He looked at her and saw how close she was getting. '_Yes'_ he thought. _'Thank you for being so adorable Naruto!_'

Just then a cup smashed into Jiraiya's head making him fall over. Naruto yelped in surprise before turning his head to see a tall, blond woman with a cocky smile on her face. He let go of Jiraiya's hand and walked over to the lady, who looked down at him with a warm smile. She crouched down to his eye level before brushing some hair out of his face.

"What a cutie you are. No wonder that pervert used you for his wicked deeds." She told Naruto in a sweet voice. Naruto just frowned and pointed to Jiraiya. "You hurt Jiraiya." The lady laughed at Naruto before standing back up. "Look kid, it takes more then a blow to the head to harm that pervert." She pointed to Jiraiya who was already starting to get back up. "See, he's good as new."

Naruto smiled and walked back over to Jiraiya who was now glaring at the lady. "Was that really needed Princess?" The lady nodded and walked over to the two men. "Well it was either the cup or my fist." The brunette had already left the area making Jiraiya pout. _'And I was sooo close too._' He thought to himself sadly. Naruto looked up to Jiraiya "What's a pervert?" He asked so innocently that the two adults blushed slightly. "Oops, I should've used something else to describe what you were doing." The blond lady told Jiraiya sheepishly.

"Umm…Well Naruto it's…" Jiraiya was torn between telling the little guy the truth, or lying to him flat out. The first one could scar him for life, the other could cause Naruto to not trust him as soon as he learned the truth. So he did the only thing a loving guardian could do in that situation. "I'll tell you when your older."

Naruto frowned slightly at this answer but shook it off. If Jiraiya thought it was unimportant, then he could care less. He looked back over at the blond who was whispering to Jiraiya about something. He pulled softly at her pant leg and looked up at her face. The lady looked sown at him with a warm smile. "Whatcha' need Naruto?" She asked him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked her point blank. He hated it when people took forever to ask Jiraiya a simple yes or no question, so he always was quick about it. The lady frowned at Jiraiya before lightly smacking him. "Jerk you forgot to introduce me to the little tyke." Jiraiya rubbed his arm before quickly spitting his tongue out at the lady.

"Whatever. Naruto this is Tusnade, one of my oldest, ouch I didn't say YOU were old I meant we've know each other for a long time, friend." Tusnade glared at Jiraiya before looking back at Naruto. "I came into town after I heard this-um I mean- Jiraiya had taken you into his custody." Tusnade smiled after explaining this to the young blond. He smiled back at her and decided that she was a nice, yet violent, lady.

All three of them walked back to Jiraiya's house and had a small dinner before Naruto went to bed. Tusnade and Jiraiya watched him quickly fall asleep before going back to the living room. Jiraiya opened up a locked cabinet filled with sake and pulled a bottle and two cups out of it. Tusnade watched him poor the drinks with a small frown on er face.

"So how long has that kid been with you?" She asked him with a tone of curiosity in her voice. Jairaya walked over to her and gave her a glass before sitting down on the other side of her. "About a year now. We celebrated his birthday three months ago, I gave him a stuffed frog and he seemed to like it." Tusnade nodded and looked out the window at the sun set. "Naruto looks just like his dad." She stated out of the blue. Jiraiya looked out the window now and smiled softly. "Yah, he does." He told her softly.


End file.
